Afghanistan - Global pulse News
  • Trump’s memory ‘really foggy,’ states author who interviewed him post-presidency

    Trump’s memory ‘really foggy,’ states author who interviewed him post-presidency

    WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump stated throughout a post-presidency interview with an author that he needed to handle an Afghanistan-related problem, although he no longer had diplomacy powers, according to audio shared solely with NBC News.

    “The factor I’m doing this and dedicating a great deal of time to it, I need to return up, since I’m doing the entire thing with the Afghanistan,” Trump informed author Ramin Setoodeh in a post-presidency interview. “Has he blown that Afghanistan?”

    Setoodeh, who composed the brand-new book “Apprentice in Wonderland,” has actually formerly explained the Afghanistan discussion with Trump, stating in an interview with CNN that Trump “appeared to believe that he still had some diplomacy powers.”

    However President Joe Biden had actually restricted Trump from getting intelligence rundowns that are usually supplied to previous presidents.

    Grabbed information about Trump’s Afghanistan remarks, Trump project interactions director Steven Cheung slammed Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal as “messed up” and indicated the deaths of 13 service members.

    “That’s on Biden and he will never ever have the ability to live that down,” Cheung stated in a declaration.

    He did not resolve why Trump went over dealing with a diplomacy matter when he no longer held those powers.

    In an MSNBC interview Thursday, Setoodeh tossed doubt on Trump’s memory, stating his recall of his truth television program “The Apprentice” was “much clearer than his memory of what he performed in the White Home.”

    “He stumbled with the chronology of current occasions,” Setoodeh stated. “He stumbled in regards to what had actually taken place in regards to our interviews. When we spoke back to back to back, he couldn’t truly keep in mind speaking to me in between our very first and 2nd discussions.”

    Trump’s “short-term memory was unclear,” Setoodeh included. “It was really foggy, and he had concerns keeping in mind things.”

    Biden and Trump are the earliest presidents in American history. Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, have actually each worked to paint the other as psychologically unsuited for workplace.

    In his declaration to NBC News, Cheung assaulted Setoodeh’s characterization of Trump’s memory.

    Cheung slammed Setoodeh as having actually “selected to enable Trump Derangement Syndrome to rot his brain thus lots of other losers whose whole presence focuses on President Trump.”

    Ballot suggests that citizens are worried about what the prospects’ ages may suggest for their capability to hold workplace. Citizens appear to think about the problem more of a liability for Biden than for Trump, according to ballot.

    This short article was initially released on NBCNews.com

  • Taliban available to cooperation with Germany on deporting Afghans

    Taliban available to cooperation with Germany on deporting Afghans

    Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers stated on Friday they are open to complying with the German federal government on the deportation of Afghan bad guys back to their home nation.

    German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated on Thursday that he wished to see the speedy deportation of bad guys back to nations considered hazardous by the federal government in Berlin, consisting of Afghanistan and Syria.

    The effort follows outrage was activated by the current killing of a policeman by an Afghan nationwide. The attack happened at a rally held by an anti-Islam group in the western city of Mannheim.

    “Such bad guys need to be deported – even if they originate from Syria and Afghanistan,” Scholz informed the Bundestag or lower home of parliament.

    Kabul reacted on Friday to the German leader’s remarks.

    “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan hires the German authorities to resolve through regular consular engagement and a suitable system based upon bilateral contract,” Taliban foreign ministry representative Abdul Kahar Balchi published on X.

    Germany has actually not sent out anybody back to Afghanistan given that the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Even before that, the contract was that just males – specifically bad guys and those considered terrorist hazards – would be by force returned, due to the tough security scenario.

    Critics alert versus talks with the Taliban, who are presently globally separated.

    According to Afghanistan professional Thomas Ruttig, the co-founder of the Afghanistan Experts Network, the Taliban might take advantage of deportations by utilizing them as a chance to work together with a Western state, which might be viewed as an increase to their credibility.

    The German refugee advocacy group Pro Asyl has actually condemned Scholz’s effort.

    “International law plainly forbids any deportations to Afghanistan and Syria,” Pro Asyl’s handling director Karl Kopp informed the Augsburger Allgemeine paper in remarks released on Friday.

    Kopp explained Scholz’s proposed strategies as illegal, since “both nations are understood for their usage of abuse and inhuman penalties.”

    A diversion by means of Afghanistan’s neighbouring nations such as Pakistan is likewise presently being thought about by the German federal government.

    Nevertheless, the Taliban decline this possibility. Extraditions to 3rd nations would be an offense of present conventions, the Foreign Ministry representative stressed in his declaration.

    Up until now, no nation has actually formally acknowledged the Taliban federal government. Western states require that human rights and specifically ladies’s rights are appreciated in the nation before acknowledgment is approved.

  • German rights group condemns Scholz’s strategy to deport bad guys

    German rights group condemns Scholz’s strategy to deport bad guys

    The German refugee advocacy group Pro Asyl has actually condemned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s effort to enable deportations of severe bad guys to Afghanistan and Syria.

    “International law plainly restricts any deportations to Afghanistan and Syria,” Pro Asyl’s handling director Karl Kopp informed the Augsburger Allgemeine paper in remarks released on Friday.

    Kopp explained Scholz’s proposed strategies as illegal, since “both nations are understood for their usage of abuse and inhuman penalties.”

    On Thursday, Scholz proposed to enable the deportation of severe bad guys to Afghanistan and Syria once again, following the current death of a policeman who was stabbed at an anti-Islamic rally in Mannheim.

    “Such bad guys must be deported – even if they originate from Syria and Afghanistan,” Scholz informed the Bundestag or lower home of parliament. “Major bad guys and [people posing] terrorist dangers have no location here.”

    The chancellor did not discuss precisely how he planned to make this possible, however stated the Interior Ministry was dealing with the useful application and was currently in talks with Afghanistan’s neighbouring nations.

    An Afghan nationwide stabbed a number of individuals recently in the south-western city of Mannheim throughout a rally by the anti-Islam motion Pax Europa. A cop who attempted to step in later on passed away of his injuries.

    “The attack in Mannheim has actually surprised all of us, however the German federal government should not weaken global law. Rather, it should depend on the resources of the German constitutional state,” Kopp stated.

    “The restriction on abuse uses to everybody consisting of bad guys. This essential concept should not be weakened,” he included.

    Germany has actually not sent out anybody back to Afghanistan because the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Even before that, the contract was that just guys – specifically bad guys and those considered terrorist dangers – would be by force returned, due to the challenging security circumstance.

  • Taliban forced out 6,000 displaced Afghans form casual settlements, states help group

    Taliban forced out 6,000 displaced Afghans form casual settlements, states help group

    ISLAMABAD (AP) — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have actually forced out countless displaced individuals in the capital Kabul and destroyed their casual settlements, making more than 800 susceptible households homeless, a help group stated Tuesday.

    The Norwegian Refugee Council advised Taliban authorities to instantly stop continuous expulsions up until proper longer-term options for moving have actually been recognized.

    “I am deeply surprised by Sunday’s forced expulsion of around 6,000 internally displaced individuals in the capital. These are a few of the most susceptible neighborhoods in Afghanistan,” stated Neil Turner, NRC’s nation director in Afghanistan.

    Afghanistan is still in the grip of growing humanitarian and socioeconomic crises that have actually ravaged the population because the Taliban takeover in August 2021.

    At the end of 2023, 4.2 million individuals were internally displaced as an outcome of dispute and violence, and 1.5 million due to catastrophes, according to NCR.

    The abrupt return of around 600,000 Afghans from Pakistan because last September has actually drastically increased the variety of displaced individuals in the nation, positioning extra concerns on currently extended resources, stated the group.

  • Almost 3 out of 10 kids in Afghanistan deal with crisis or emergency situation level of cravings in 2024

    Almost 3 out of 10 kids in Afghanistan deal with crisis or emergency situation level of cravings in 2024

    ISLAMABAD (AP) — About 6.5 million kids in Afghanistan were anticipated to experience crisis levels of cravings in 2024, nongovernmental company Conserve the Kid stated.

    Almost 3 of 10 Afghan kids will deal with crisis or emergency situation levels of cravings this year as the nation feels the instant effects of floods, the long-lasting impacts of dry spell, and the return of Afghans from surrounding Pakistan and Iran, according to a report launched late Tuesday by Save The Kid.

    Brand-new figures from international cravings tracking body Integrated Food Security Stage Category projection that 28% of Afghanistan’s population, about 12.4 million individuals, will deal with severe food insecurity before October. Of those, almost 2.4 million are forecasted to experience emergency situation levels of cravings, which is one level above scarcity, according to Conserve the Kid.

    The figures reveal a small enhancement from the last report, launched in October 2023, however highlight the continuing requirement for support, with hardship impacting 1 in 2 Afghans.

    Downpour and flash floods struck northern Afghanistan in Might, eliminating more than 400 individuals. Countless homes were damaged or harmed and farmland was become mud.

    Conserve the Kid is running a “center on wheels” in Baghlan province, which was struck the worst by floods, as part of its emergency situation action program. The company included that an approximated 2.9 million kids under the age of 5 are forecasted to experience severe poor nutrition in 2024.

    Arshad Malik, Nation Director for Save the Kid in Afghanistan, stated the NGO has actually dealt with more than 7,000 kids for extreme or severe poor nutrition up until now this year.

    “Those numbers suggest the enormous requirement for continuing assistance for households as they experience shock after shock,” stated Malik. Kids are feeling the ravaging effects of 3 years of dry spell, high levels of joblessness, and the return of more than 1.4 million Afghans from Pakistan and Iran, he included.

    “We require long-lasting, community-based services to assist households reconstruct their lives,” stated Malik.

    More than 557,000 Afghans have actually returned from Pakistan considering that September 2023, after Pakistan started punishing immigrants it declares remain in the nation unlawfully, consisting of 1.7 million Afghans. It firmly insists the project is not directed versus Afghans particularly, however they comprise the majority of the immigrants in the South Asian nation.

    In April, Conserve the Kid stated a quarter of a million Afghan kids require education, food and homes after being by force returned from Pakistan.

    Malik included that just 16% of financing for the 2024 humanitarian action strategy has actually been satisfied up until now, however almost half the population requires support.

    “This is not the time for the world to avert,” he stated.

  • From Zambia to Afghanistan, WFP alerts El Niño’s severe weather condition is triggering a rise in cravings

    From Zambia to Afghanistan, WFP alerts El Niño’s severe weather condition is triggering a rise in cravings

    CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Severe weather condition credited to the El Niño phenomenon is triggering a rise in cravings from Zambia to Afghanistan, the UN’s World Food Program stated Wednesday, contacting donors for much-needed assistance.

    El Nino is a natural, short-term and periodic warming of part of the Pacific that moves international weather condition patterns, and research studies state environment modification is making them more powerful.

    10s of countless individuals in southern Africa depend on the weather condition to grow food to feed themselves.

    In a declaration, the WFP alerted that southern Africa was the “center of the crisis” after a cycle of floods and dry spell has actually damaged the area over the last 3 years. 3 nations, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia, are the worst impacted and have actually seen in between 40-80% of their essential corn crops erased by dry spell this season, leaving millions affected, according to the UN food company.

    The WFP stated executive director Cindy McCain had actually taken a trip to Zambia and seen how “serious dry spell has actually erased harvests in an area where 70% of the population counts on farming to endure.”

    “We can’t ask millions to await the next harvest season — a year from now — to put food on their tables,” McCain stated in a declaration. “These households require our assistance today while we assist to develop a more resistant future.”

    WFP stated its “groups have actually begun to react however US$409 million are required for 6 months to help 4.8 million individuals in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.”

    Other nations, consisting of Congo and Afghanistan, are dealing with comparable issues due to altering climate condition which have actually caused damaged crops, animals deaths and displaced individuals, triggering a rise in cravings, the company stated in a different declaration.

    This comes as cravings crises triggered by dispute in Gaza and Sudan are currently extending the company’s help capability.

    The WFP’s require help came days after the local Southern African Advancement Neighborhood made a plea for assistance after an unique virtual conference of leaders and federal government authorities to go over the effect of the severe weather condition.

    In a joint declaration, the southern African nations stated the area required $5.5 billion to assist more than 61 million individuals.

    There had actually been a “diverse and cascading effect of the El Niño-induced dry spell and floods throughout several sectors,” the local bloc stated, keeping in mind how it had actually triggered other issues, such as adding to big and lethal break outs of the water-born cholera illness. Nations that depend upon hydroelectric generators, like Zambia, are having a hard time to produce sufficient electrical energy since of the dry spell.

    Together With El Niño, the southern African area has actually just recently seen a series of hurricanes that researchers stated were most likely made more powerful and wetter by human-caused environment modification and the boost in international temperature levels.

    While the African continent contributes the least to environment modification, it is anticipated to suffer one of the most. Poorer nations are typically not as fully equipped to handle the effect.

    Even before the floods and dry spell, food insecurity and poor nutrition were currently at disconcerting levels in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia and humanitarian help had actually stalled since of financing scarcities for help, WFP stated.

    The 3 nations have all stated nationwide catastrophes over this year’s dry spell, and others have actually supplied similarly grim evaluations.

    The United Nations humanitarian company stated this month that around half of Zimbabwe’s population of 15 million required “lifesaving and life-sustaining” assistance since of the dry spell.

    Recently, the Action Versus Cravings non-profit alerted that “a cravings crisis might impend” in Kenya in East Africa after devastating floods displaced more than 250,000 individuals.

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    AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

  • Heavy rains triggered flash floods in northern Afghanistan, eliminating a minimum of 47 individuals

    Heavy rains triggered flash floods in northern Afghanistan, eliminating a minimum of 47 individuals

    ISLAMABAD (AP) — More heavy rains in Afghanistan have actually set off flash floods, raising the death toll to 47 in the nation’s north following weeks of ravaging gushes that had actually currently left hundreds dead and missing, a Taliban spokesperson stated Sunday.

    The brand-new round of heavy rains and floods struck 3 districts in Faryab province Saturday night, ruining homes and farmlands, stated Shamsuddin Mohammadi, the provincial director of info. Earlier reports from Faryab put the death toll at 18 however authorities stated they were still initial figures.

    Afghanistan has actually been experiencing uncommonly heavy seasonal rains.

    In the hard-hit western province of Ghor, 50 individuals were reported dead from Friday’s floods, according to Abdul Wahid Hamas, spokesperson for the provincial guv.

    The U.N. food firm stated Ghor was the most impacted by the floods. Recently, the World Food Program stated the remarkably heavy rains in Afghanistan had actually eliminated more than 300 individuals and ruined countless homes, primarily in the northern province of Baghlan.

    Survivors have actually been entrusted no home, no land, and no source of income, WFP stated, including that the majority of Baghlan was unattainable by trucks.

    The current catastrophe began the heels of ravaging floods that eliminated a minimum of 70 individuals in April. The waters likewise ruined about 2,000 homes, 3 mosques and 4 schools in western Farah and Herat, and southern Zabul and Kandahar provinces.

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  • Army whistleblower who exposed alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan is sentenced to prison

    Army whistleblower who exposed alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan is sentenced to prison

    MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian judge sentenced a former army lawyer to almost six years in prison on Tuesday for leaking to the media classified information that exposed allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.

    David McBride, 60, was sentenced in a court in the capital, Canberra, to five years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to three charges including theft and sharing with members of the press documents classified as secret. He had faced a potential life sentence.

    Justice David Mossop ordered McBride to serve 27 months in prison before he can be considered for release on parole.

    Rights advocates argue that McBride’s conviction and sentencing before any alleged war criminal he helped expose reflected a lack of whistleblower protections in Australia.

    McBride’s lawyer Mark Davis said he planned to file an appeal against the severity of the sentence.

    McBride’s documents formed the basis of an Australian Broadcasting Corp. seven-part television series in 2017 that contained war crime allegations including Australian Special Air Service Regiment soldiers killing unarmed Afghan men and children in 2013.

    Police raided the ABC’s Sydney headquarters in 2019 in search of evidence of a leak, but decided against charging the two reporters responsible for the investigation.

    In sentencing, Mossop said he did not accept McBride’s explanation that he thought a court would vindicate him for acting in the public interest.

    McBride’s argument that his suspicions that the higher echelons of the Australian Defense Force were engaged in criminal activity obliged him to disclose classified papers “didn’t reflect reality,” Mossop said.

    An Australian military report released in 2020 found evidence that Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and civilians. The report recommended 19 current and former soldiers face criminal investigation.

    Police are working with the Office of the Special Investigator, an Australian investigation agency established in 2021, to build cases against elite SAS and Commando Regiments troops who served in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.

    Former SAS trooper Oliver Schulz last year became the first of these veterans to be charged with a war crime. He is accused of shooting dead a noncombatant man in a wheat field in Uruzgan province in 2012

    Also last year, a civil court found Australia’s most decorated living war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith had likely unlawfully killed four Afghans. He has not been criminally charged.

    Human Rights Watch’s Australia director Daniela Gavshon said McBride’s sentencing was evidence an Australia’s whistleblowing laws needed exemptions in the public interest.

    “It is a stain on Australia’s reputation that some of its soldiers have been accused of war crimes in Afghanistan, and yet the first person convicted in relation to these crimes is a whistleblower not the abusers,” Gavshon said in a statement.

    “David McBride’s jail sentence reinforces that whistleblowers are not protected by Australian law. It will create a chilling effect on those taking risks to push for transparency and accountability – cornerstones of democracy,” she added.

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  • Families still looking for missing loved ones after devastating Afghanistan floods killed scores

    Families still looking for missing loved ones after devastating Afghanistan floods killed scores

    ISLAMABAD (AP) — When he heard that devastating floods hit his village in northern Afghanistan last week, farmer Abdul Ghani rushed home from neighboring Kunduz province where he was visiting relatives. When he got home, he found out that his wife and three children had perished in the deluge.

    Two of his sons survived but another son, who is 11, is still missing. “I couldn’t even find the road to my village,” he said, describing how he turned back and went another way to reach his district of Nahrin in Baghlan province.

    Across Baghlan, others like Ghani and survivors of the disaster were still searching for their missing loved ones and burying their dead on Monday.

    “Roads, villages and lands were all washed away,” Ghani said. His wife, his 7-year-old and 9-year-old daughters and a 4-year-old son died.

    “My life has turned into a disaster,” he said, speaking to The Associated Press over the phone.

    The U.N. food agency estimates that the unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan left more than 300 people dead and thousands of houses destroyed, most of them in Baghlan, which bore the brunt of floodings on Friday.

    Survivors have been left with no home, no land, and no source of livelihood, the World Food Organization said. Most of Baghlan is “inaccessible by trucks,” said WFP, adding that it is resorting to every alternative it can think of to get food to the survivors.

    U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed condolences to the victims, said a statement on Sunday, adding that the world body and aid agencies are working with the Taliban-run government to help.

    “The United Nations and its partners in Afghanistan are coordinating with the de facto authorities to swiftly assess needs and provide emergency assistance,” according to the statement.

    The dead include 51 children, according to UNICEF, one of several international aid groups that are sending relief teams, medicines, blankets and other supplies. The World Health Organization said it delivered 7 tons of medicines and emergency kits to the stricken areas.

    Meanwhile, the U.N. migration agency has been distributing aid packages that include temporary shelters, essential non-food items, solar modules, clothing, and tools for repairs to their damaged shelters.

    The latest disaster came on the heels of a previous one, when at least 70 people died in April from heavy rains and flash floods in the country. The waters also destroyed about 2,000 homes, three mosques and four schools in western Farah and Herat, and southern Zabul and Kandahar provinces.

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  • Flash floods in northern Afghanistan sweep away livelihoods, leaving hundreds dead and missing

    Flash floods in northern Afghanistan sweep away livelihoods, leaving hundreds dead and missing

    ISLAMABAD (AP) — Shopkeeper Nazer Mohammad ran home as soon as he heard about flash floods crashing into the outskirts of a provincial capital in northern Afghanistan. By the time he got there, there was nothing left, including his family of five.

    “Everything happened just all of a sudden. I came home, but there was no home there, instead I saw all the neighborhood covered by mud and water,” said Mohammad. 48. He said that he buried his wife and two sons aged 15 and 8 years, but he’s still looking for two daughters, who are around 6 and 11 years old.

    The U.N. food agency estimated that unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan have left more than 300 people dead and over 1,000 houses destroyed, most of them in the northern province of Baghlan, which bore the brunt of the deluges Friday.

    Mohammad said Sunday that he found the bodies of his wife and two sons late Friday night on the outskirt of Puli Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province.

    “I hope someone has found my daughters alive,” he said, holding back tears. “Just in the blink of an eye, I lost everything: family, home, belongings, now nothing is left to me.”

    Aid group Save the Children said about 600,000 people, half of them children, live in the five districts in Baghlan that have been severely impacted by the floods. The group said it sent a “clinic on wheels” with mobile health and child protection teams to support children and their families.

    “Lives and livelihoods have been washed away,” said Arshad Malik, country director for Save the Children. “The flash floods tore through villages, sweeping away homes and killing livestock. Children have lost everything. Families who are still reeling from the economic impacts of three years of drought urgently need assistance.”

    He said that Afghanistan was a country least prepared to cope with climate change patterns, such as the heavier seasonal rains, and needs help from the international community.

    At least 70 people died in April from heavy rains and flash floods in the country, which also destroyed About 2,000 homes, three mosques and four schools.

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  • Taliban Say Order Restored After Afghan Opium Poppy Protests

    Taliban Say Order Restored After Afghan Opium Poppy Protests

    KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan Taliban said on Tuesday they have quelled protests in a northern province over security forces’ attempts to eradicate opium poppy cultivation which generates income for many impoverished farmers.

    Taliban authorities were holding meetings in Badakhshan, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a Whatsapp message, after several days of protests, in which two people were killed.

    Mujahid said in a separate statement that a delegation from Kabul, led by the defence chief of staff, would this week travel to Badakhshan to investigate, a rare official acknowledgement of civil disturbance since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

    Since then, they have vowed to restore control over the entire war-torn nation and have at times forcefully broken up protests in urban areas, especially against decisions that restrict women from education and many workplaces.

    “The Badakhshan issue can be solved,” Mujahid said.

    “Two of our countrymen lost their lives during the clashes, their rights will be observed,” he said, adding that authorities would meet with relatives and make a decision over compensation for their deaths.

    International research firm Alcis released research based on satellite data last year showing there had been a drastic reduction of opium production in most provinces between 2022 and 2023, often by more than 90%. However it noted that in Badakhshan, the amount of land used for poppy growing had grown.

    Mujahid did not elaborate on the cause of the deaths. Local broadcaster Tolo reported that the two had been killed as the protests became violent and security forces opened fire late last week.

    Zabihullah Amiri, head of the Taliban-run provincial government’s media department, said that an official delegation from the provincial capital had travelled to the two districts to hold meetings and that the areas were now “under control”.

    “They accepted the legitimate demands of the people, at the moment, there are no issues in Argo and Darayim districts,” he said. “The people and area are under the control of security forces, and the latest update is that people have committed to cooperating with security forces to eradicate poppy cultivation.”

    The Taliban seized power in 2021 as the United States and its allies withdrew troops after a 20-year war launched in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

    In 2022, the Taliban’s supreme spiritual leader ordered a ban on narcotics cultivation in the world’s then-top opium producer.

    Many Afghan landowners and labourers rely on growing opium poppies, especially in the Taliban’s historic heartland in the south.

    Badakhshan shares a border with Tajikistan and China, with which the Taliban are trying to improve economic links.

    The province’s population is predominantly ethnically Tajik, in contrast to the Taliban, most of whose top leaders are ethnically Pashtun, which can exacerbate ethnic tensions despite Taliban promises they will govern the country in the interest of all Afghans.

    (Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul and Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad; Editing by Nick Macfie)

    Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.

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  • The Taliban are working to woo tourists to Afghanistan

    The Taliban are working to woo tourists to Afghanistan

    KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) —

    Around 30 men are crammed into a Kabul classroom, part of the debut student cohort at a Taliban-run institute training tourism and hospitality professionals.

    It’s a motley crew. One student is a model. Another is 17 and has no job history.

    The students vary in age, education level and professional experience. They’re all men — Afghan women are banned from studying beyond sixth grade — and they don’t know anything about tourism or hospitality. But they are all eager to promote a different side of Afghanistan. And the Taliban are happy to help.

    Afghanistan’s rulers are pariahs on the global stage, largely because of their restrictions on women and girls. The economy is struggling, infrastructure is poor, and poverty is rife.

    And yet, foreigners are visiting the country, encouraged by the sharp drop in violence, increased flight connections with hubs like Dubai, and the bragging rights that come with vacationing in an unusual destination. The numbers aren’t huge — they never were — but there’s a buzz around Afghan tourism.

    In 2021, there were 691 foreign tourists. In 2022, that figure rose to 2,300. Last year, there were 7,000.

    Mohammad Saeed, the head of the Tourism Directorate in Kabul, said the biggest foreign visitor market is China because of its proximity and large population. Afghanistan also has advantages over some of its neighbors.

    “They’ve told me they don’t want to go to Pakistan because it’s dangerous and they get attacked. The Japanese have said this to me also,” Saeed said. “This is good for us.”

    But there are disadvantages, too.

    Visas are difficult and expensive to access. Many countries severed ties with Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, and no country recognizes them as the legitimate rulers of the country.

    Afghan embassies either closed or suspended their operations. There’s an ongoing power struggle between Afghanistan’s embassies and consulates staffed by people from the former Western-backed administration, and those under the Taliban administration’s full control.

    Saeed concedes there are obstacles for Afghan tourism to develop but said he was working with ministries to overcome them.

    His ultimate aim is to have a visa on arrival for tourists, but that could be years away. There are problems with the road network, which is half-paved or non-existent in some parts of the country, and airlines largely avoid Afghan airspace.

    The capital Kabul has the most international flights, but no Afghan airport has direct routes with major tourist markets like China, Europe, or India.

    Despite the challenges, Saeed wants Afghanistan to become a tourism powerhouse, an ambition that appears to be backed by the Taliban’s top leaders.

    “I have been sent to this department on the instructions of the elders (ministers). They must trust me because they’ve sent me to this important place.”

    The students also have aspirations. The model, Ahmed Massoud Talash, wants to learn about Afghanistan’s picturesque spots for Instagram posts and its history for media appearances.

    Business school graduate Samir Ahmadzai wants to open a hotel but thinks he should know more about tourism and hospitality first.

    “They hear that Afghanistan is backwards, poverty and all about war,” said Ahmadzai. “We have 5,000 years of history. There should be a new page of Afghanistan.”

    Classes include Afghan handicrafts and anthropology basics.

    An unofficial subject is how to interact with foreign women and how their behavior or habits could clash with local customs and edicts. Examples might be women smoking or eating in public, to mixing freely with men who are not related to them by blood or marriage.

    The Taliban have imposed a dress code for women and requirements for them to have a male guardian, or mahram, when they travel. Dining alone, traveling alone, and socializing with other women in public have become harder. With gyms closed to women and beauty salons banned, there are fewer places where they can meet outside the home.

    In a sign that the country is preparing for more overseas visitors, the country’s only five-star hotel, the Serena, has reopened its women’s spa and salon for foreign females after a monthslong closure.

    Foreigners must show their passport to access services. Women with “born in Afghanistan” on their ID are barred.

    The restrictions on Afghan women and girls weigh on overseas travel companies, who say they try to focus on the positive aspect of cultural interactions by making donations, supporting local projects or only visiting family-run businesses.

    Shane Horan, the founder of Rocky Road Travel, said visiting Afghanistan should not be seen as an endorsement of any particular government or political regime.

    “Ultimately, the goal should be to support responsible tourism practices that contribute positively to the local economy and foster mutual respect and understanding, while also remaining cognizant of the broader political context in Afghanistan.”

    He said there was no input from authorities about what tour groups saw or did, and that the company worked closely with a women’s rights organization in Afghanistan. A percentage of the tour cost went into supporting this organization’s programs, Horan added.

    There are no women at the Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management. The students don’t mention it. But an official at the Tourism Directorate does.

    “It’s a heartbreaking situation,” said the official, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. “Even female family members ask if they can study here. But there was a change in policy with the change in government. The women who were studying before (the takeover) never came back. They never graduated.”

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  • Millions of Afghans made Pakistan home to escape war. Now many are hiding to escape deportation

    Millions of Afghans made Pakistan home to escape war. Now many are hiding to escape deportation

    KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Born and raised in Pakistan to parents who fled neighboring Afghanistan half a century ago, an 18-year-old found himself at the mercy of police in Karachi who took his cash, phone and motorbike, and sent him to a deportation center.

    Scared and bewildered, he spent three days there before he was sent back to Afghanistan, a place he has never been to, with nothing but clothes on his back.

    The youth is one of at least 1.7 million Afghans who made Pakistan their home as their country sank deeper into decades of war. But they’ve been living there without legal permission, and are now the target of a harsh crackdown on migrants who Pakistan says must leave.

    Some 600,000 Afghans have returned home since last October, when the crackdown began, meaning at least a million remain in Pakistan in hiding. They’ve retreated from public view, abandoning their jobs and rarely leaving their neighborhoods out of fear they could be next for deportation.

    It’s harder for them to earn money, rent accommodation, buy food or get medical help because they run the risk of getting caught by police or being reported to authorities by Pakistanis.

    The youth, who had been working as a mechanic in an auto shop since he was 15, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest and deportation.

    He has applied for the same documentation that his family has, but he won’t get it. Pakistan isn’t issuing paperwork for Afghan refugees or their children.

    “My life is here. I have no friends or family in Afghanistan, nothing,” the young man told The Associated Press. “I wanted to come back (to Pakistan) sooner, but things had to calm down first,” he said, referring to the anti-migrant raids sweeping the country at the time.

    Taliban authorities gave him 2,500 afghanis ($34) once he entered Afghanistan to start a new life. They dispatched him to northeastern Takhar province, where he slept in mosques and religious schools because he knew nobody to stay with. He passed his time playing cricket and football, and borrowed other people’s phones to call his family.

    Six weeks later, he traveled from Takhar to the Afghan capital, Kabul, then to eastern Nangarhar province. He walked for hours in the dark before meeting up with human smugglers hired by his brother in Pakistan. Their job was to get him to Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, for the price of $70.

    He is relieved to be reunited with his family. But he is vulnerable.

    Police have daubed numbers on homes in his neighborhood to show how many people live there and how many have documentation. Hundreds of Afghan families have fled the area since the operation began. There are fewer people to hide among.

    Such neighborhoods in Karachi are easily home to tens of thousands of Afghans. But they have no drainage systems, health care or education facilities. There are few women on the streets, and those who venture out wear burqas, often the blue ones more commonly seen in Afghanistan.

    Lawyer Moniza Kakar, who works extensively with the Afghan community in Karachi, said there are generations of families with no paperwork. Without it, they can’t access basic services like schools or hospitals.

    Afghans were already under the radar before the crackdown, and rumours abound that Pakistan wants to expel all Afghans, even those with documentation. Pakistan says no such decision has been made.

    In another Karachi neighborhood with a mostly Afghan population, people scatter when police arrive, disappearing into a maze of alleys. A network of informants spread news of the visits.

    Kakar despairs at the plight of Afghans who remain in Pakistan. “Sometimes they don’t have food so we appeal to the U.N. to help them out,” she said. To earn money or get medical help, they would have previously traveled from such neighborhoods into the heart of Karachi, but they can’t afford these journeys anymore. They’re also likely to be arrested, she added.

    Some show Kakar their ID cards from the time of Gen. Zia Ul-Haq, the military dictator whose rule of Pakistan coincided with the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. “They wonder why they don’t have citizenship after 40 years. They don’t share their location. They don’t go out. They live in property rented in someone else’s name.”

    There are children who were born in Pakistan who have grown up and have children of their own. “The children don’t have any identity paperwork. All of them have an undecided future,” said Kakar.

    Syed Habib Ur Rehman works as a media coordinator at the Afghanistan Consulate General in Karachi. He spends a lot of time in these communities.

    “There are empty homes, empty shops,” Rehman said. “Markets are empty. The Pakistanis we know don’t agree with what is happening. They say they have spent a good life with us. Their business has gone down because so many Afghan families have left.”

    The Afghans interviewed by the AP had different reasons for never securing their status. Some said they were overseas working. Others didn’t have time. Nobody thought Pakistan would ever throw them out.

    Mohammad Khan Mughal, 32, was born in Karachi and has three children. Before the crackdown started, the Afghan ran a tandoor business. Police told him to close down.

    “My customers started complaining because they couldn’t buy bread from me,” he said. He and his family went to the southwestern city of Quetta in Baluchistan province to escape the raids.

    He returned to Karachi a few days later, and has no intention of leaving.

    “This is my home,” he said, with pride and sadness. “This is my city.”

    ___

    Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

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  • Flood death toll in Afghanistan rises to at least 50 people

    Flood death toll in Afghanistan rises to at least 50 people

    Flooding caused by heavy rains over the past four days has claimed the lives of at least 50 people in Afghanistan, the country’s National Disaster Management Authority reported on Tuesday.

    Another 36 people were injured in the floods, agency spokesman Janan Sayaq said.

    Officials previously reported 33 deaths nationwide.

    Sayaq added that the floods caused significant damage, including destroying agricultural land and homes.

    Afghanistan is reeling from the after-effects of decades of conflict and one natural disaster after another, including floods and earthquakes. A series of earthquakes in the Western province of Herat in October claimed at least 1,500 lives, according to the UN.

    In February, an avalanche struck a mountain village in Nuristan province, killing at least 21 people.

    The lack of robust infrastructure, particularly in remote areas, often exacerbates the consequences of such disasters.

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  • Johnny Mercer given deadline to challenge order to hand over names to Afghan inquiry

    Johnny Mercer given deadline to challenge order to hand over names to Afghan inquiry

    Veterans’ Minister Johnny Mercer has been given until 8 May to argue why he should not have to name people who told him about alleged war crimes in Afghanistan by British special forces.

    The MP was previously told to provide names to the Afghanistan Inquiry by 5 April or he could face a jail sentence.

    The deadline has now been extended while the inquiry considers Mr Mercer’s challenge to the order.

    He previously argued that protecting his sources was a matter of integrity.

    The veterans’ minister now has until 4pm on 8 May to make any further submissions or evidence, inquiry chairman Sir Charles Haddon-Cave has ordered.

    During Mr Mercer’s evidence in March, the MP was accused of refusing to answer “legitimate questions”.

    In heated exchanges, Mr Mercer repeatedly refused to reveal the names of the “multiple officers” who he said had approached him during his time as a backbench MP, and privately warned him there might be truth to the allegations of extrajudicial killings by special forces.

    Defending his decision not to disclose the names, he told the inquiry last month: “The one thing you can hold on to is your integrity and I will be doing that with these individuals.”

    Mr Mercer was served with a Section 21 notice under the Inquiries Act 2005 last month.

    The order compels him to hand over the names, which the Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan has insisted will be “treated in confidence”.

    He had until 3 April to make written submissions explaining why he believed the order was unreasonable, or was unable to comply with it.

    The inquiry is investigating whether British special forces murdered civilians and unarmed people on night raids in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013.

    Mr Mercer served with a Special Boat Service (SBS) task force in Afghanistan from 2008 to 2009.

    He previously told the inquiry that he had received a direct account from a serving member of the SBS who said he had been asked to carry a “drop weapon” – which he explained were non-Nato weapons carried by UK Special Forces units that could be planted on the body of someone killed during a mission, to falsely suggest the unarmed victim had posed a threat to British troops.

    Mr Mercer also refused to reveal to the inquiry the name of the SBS member asked to carry a drop weapon.

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  • South Wales military complex to be used to house Afghan escapees

    South Wales military complex to be used to house Afghan escapees

    A military complex will be used to house people who worked with the UK government in Afghanistan, but fled after the Taliban seized power.

    East Camp in St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, will house 50 people by the end of March with more arriving in April, the Ministry of Defence said.

    The site can host a maximum of 180 people.

    Those arriving are eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) programme.

    The scheme is for those who worked for or with the UK government in Afghanistan in “exposed or meaningful” roles.

    It is aimed at those who could face retribution by the Taliban, which re-took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, due to their association with international forces.

    Colonel Sion Walker is in charge of the site and told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that it would be Afghan families on the site.

    “The first group are there now at St Athan awaiting for more permanent accommodation in the not too distant future.

    “We are working on a timeline of about six to eight weeks, bringing the families in and we help them set up things like bank accounts and other things they need to actually live in the UK, noting that these are people who are entitled to be here and to settle here.

    So we give them all the bits and pieces they need to actually settle and at the same time we’re then looking for appropriate accommodation.

    He added that up until just before Christmas the site was a technical training site used by the RAF so the accommodation there is made up of two person rooms which have now been repurposed to make them more suitable for families living there.

    “We owe a debt of gratitude to those brave Afghans who risked their lives working alongside our forces in support of the UK mission,” the MoD said.

    Those eligible will be housed at East Camp for six weeks “before moving to more settled accommodation”, a spokesman added.

    The MoD said it was working with the Welsh government and Vale of Glamorgan council to ensure the project was managed “with everybody in mind”, especially those who live locally.

    Andrew Fox, a retired army officer, helped about 3,000 people to evacuate Afghanistan to the UK and other countries.

    He said the programme was designed for people who worked with the British in Afghanistan who are now at risk.

    “They include the Afghan national army special forces, but also a variety of contractors and interpreters and other people who were side by side with us on the frontlines, who now need to be rescued because the Taliban will kill them if they catch them.

    “There’s been reports of torture, murder, and so we’re doing morally the right thing, and we’re bringing them to the UK, where they can live a life of safety, and be part of British society and stand side by side with us here again in our own country.”

    Mr Fox did three tours of the country between 2007 and 2010 and said the situation was not ideal but that it was “repaying a debt”.

    “I wish we could put them straight into houses, and that there was the capacity to do that here, but there isn’t, the important thing is that we’re getting that backlog in Pakistan moving because it’s an awful thing for these people to be stuck in limbo.

    “Can you imagine putting your life on hold for 12, 24, maybe 36 months, where you’re waiting for someone to move you and or your family to a whole new country, where you don’t know the culture, you don’t know the language that well, and the mental strain on these people is horrendous.

    “I’m just really glad that we finally got that moving.”

    In 2023, plans to house Ukrainian refugees at nearby Llantwit Major drew demonstrations from a far-right group.

    The Welsh government said the programme was the responsibility of the MoD, which it said it was “working constructively with” to ensure those relocated to Wales from Afghanistan were “able to integrate effectively”.

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  • Family fears for U.S. hostage Ryan Corbett’s health in Taliban prison after “deeply disturbing” phone call

    Family fears for U.S. hostage Ryan Corbett’s health in Taliban prison after “deeply disturbing” phone call

    The family of Ryan Corbett, an American humanitarian who has been imprisoned without charge by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers since August 2022, said a brief, “disturbing” phone call from him this week has them increasingly concerned about his declining mental and physical health.

    Anna Corbett, Ryan’s wife, said in a statement that she and their three children received a “deeply disturbing 12-minute call from Ryan” on Tuesday, “in which Ryan exhibited a significantly deteriorated mental state. His captors have told him that he is forgotten by his country, and it seems he now believes them.”

    The family, who live in New York, said Ryan told them on the call that he’d suffered from “high fevers last week that went undiagnosed.” 

    Anna and the couple’s three children, 18-year-old Ketsia, 16-year-old Miriam and 13-year-old Caleb, have had just five short phone calls from Ryan, totalling 44 minutes, since he was detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2022, a year after the Islamic extremists retook control over the country and the U.S.-led international military coalition withdrew. 

    march-22-2021-in-kabul-nowruz.jpg
    Ryan Corbett, left

    Courtesy Corbett family)


    Taliban intelligence officials told CBS News in December that Ryan, 40, was accused of anti-state activities, a common accusation made against Westerners. Corbett has been determined to be “wrongfully detained” by the U.S. State Department, indicating the government’s assessment that the charges against him are baseless.

    “I’m really scared,” Anna told CBS News on Wednesday. “Something could happen to Ryan and nobody would even know. He’s often isolated for long periods of time, and with reports of seizures, fainting, discolored extremities and now deep despair, I worry every day that he may not make it home alive.” 

    “I want the president to realize that the lack of action to bring Ryan home could have disastrous consequences,” she added, referring to President Biden.

    Qatar, which acts as the United States’ Protecting Power for Afghanistan in lieu of formal diplomatic relations between Washington and Kabul, has sent officials to visit Ryan in person twice, first in January 2023, and again in December. 

    In an exclusive TV interview in December, Anna told CBS News that Ryan had been suffering from a constant ringing in his ears and deteriorating vision, as well as seizures during his imprisonment by the Islamist militants almost 600 days ago. She also said a childhood accident had left Ryan with a collapsed lung, making him more prone to pneumonia while being held “in a damp and cold basement” since his imprisonment. 

    A Taliban intelligence official told CBS News in December that Ryan’s health was “fine,” that he was being held in a “guesthouse” with daily access to sunlight, goat and sheep meat, newspapers, magazines and a small gym. CBS News has not verified those claims. 

    Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s appointed envoy to the United Nations, also told CBS News: “We don’t torture or mistreat anyone in custody.”

    A State Department spokesperson told CBS News the government was aware of Ryan’s latest phone call to his family and was “concerned about the well-being of Americans detained in Afghanistan and actively working for their release.”

    “U.S. officials have continuously pressed, including in meetings with Taliban representatives, for the immediate and unconditional release of Americans detained in Afghanistan, noting that these detentions are a significant obstacle to positive engagement,” the spokesperson said, adding that “for privacy, safety, and operational reasons, we won’t speak publicly to their cases.”

    Margaret Brennan and Olivia Gazis contributed to this report.

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  • Explainer-Why Did ISIS-K Attack a Moscow Theater?

    Explainer-Why Did ISIS-K Attack a Moscow Theater?

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. has intelligence confirming Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for a deadly shooting attack at a concert near Moscow on Friday, a U.S. official told Reuters.

    Here is information about the Islamic State’s Afghan branch known as ISIS-K and their motives for attacking Russia:

    Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), named after an old term for the region that included parts of Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, emerged in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and quickly established a reputation for extreme brutality.

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    One of the most active regional affiliates of the Islamic State militant group, ISIS-K has seen its membership decline since peaking around 2018. The Taliban and U.S. forces inflicted heavy losses.

    The United States has said its ability to develop intelligence against extremist groups in Afghanistan such as ISIS-K has been reduced since the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country in 2021.

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    WHAT ATTACKS HAS THE GROUP CARRIED OUT?

    ISIS-K has a history of attacks, including against mosques, inside and outside Afghanistan.

    Earlier this year, the U.S. intercepted communications confirming the group carried out twin bombings in Iran that killed nearly 100 people.

    In September 2022, ISIS-K militants claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing at the Russian embassy in Kabul.

    The group was responsible for an attack on Kabul’s international airport in 2021 that killed 13 U.S. troops and scores of civilians during the chaotic U.S. evacuation from the country.

    Earlier this month, the top U.S. general in the Middle East said ISIS-K could attack U.S. and Western interests outside of Afghanistan “in as little as six months and with little to no warning.”

    WHY WOULD THEY ATTACK RUSSIA?

    While the attack by ISIS-K in Russia on Friday was a dramatic escalation, experts said the group has opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent years.

    “ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years, frequently criticizing Putin in its propaganda,” said Colin Clarke of Soufan Center, a Washington-based research group.

    Michael Kugelman of the Washington-based Wilson Center said that ISIS-K “sees Russia as being complicit in activities that regularly oppress Muslims.”

    He added that the group also counts as members a number of Central Asian militants with their own grievances against Moscow.

    (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

    Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.

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